Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Purchases 3,369 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 48.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,334 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,369 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake in Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $191.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.61.

Hershey Stock Up 0.9%

HSY opened at $185.97 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.65 and a 200-day moving average of $195.79. The company has a market capitalization of $37.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.47. Hershey had a net margin of 12.24% and a return on equity of 31.92%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Hershey has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.360-8.520 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.37%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,043,150. The trade was a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.